TNA Impact Wrestling: Complete Preview, Rumors, News and More for October 31

Between shopping for candy and handing it out to all the children that come knocking Thursday night on Halloween, wrestling fans will be watching TNA’s Impact Wrestling to catch all of the wild fallout from last week’s episode.

The World Heavyweight Championship has been vacated now that AJ Styles has left the company with the belt, per Dixie Carter, and the focus will be on what’s next for the title and the main event scene.

Add in the action-packed episode surrounding the Halloween holiday—TNA will blow this show out with graphics and Party City decorations—and this is an Impact that will help turn the page in the company’s history.

Where: Maverik Center in Salt Lake City, Utah

When: Thursday, Oct. 31, 9 p.m. ET (pre-taped)

Watch: Spike TV

World Heavyweight Championship Fallout

After winning the title at Bound for Glory, successfully defending it against Bully Ray last Thursday on Impact and leaving the company with the belt, AJ Styles has become the 2011 CM Punk character that left after Money in the Bank with the WWE Championship. While this has been a watered-down version of the well-known storyline, it is still light years better than the Aces & Eights angle and should yield positive results moving forward for the company.

Question on Everybody's Mind: Where Does TNA Go from Here?

The best part of last week’s Impact Wrestling was the involvement of Ken Anderson. Anderson is not as entertaining as he once was and the feud with Bully Ray won’t be great, but it means the title scene is completely clear of challengers right now. Using the Punk story as a guide, the next logical step would be to crown a new champion via tournament.

Hype Meter: 4 out of 5 King of the Ring Tournaments

Remember how great tournaments like King of the Ring were when a company’s world title was on the line? While it is unclear if a March Madness-style tournament will actually come to fruition—Dixie vacated the title and hasn’t announced anything about who will fight for it—this is a great chance for the company to offer the fans something genuinely entertaining.

WWE may have used this storyline in 2011, but the idea of vacating a title and holding a tournament to crown the new champion is a hallmark of the wrestling industry. TNA has the chance to make something very interesting happen Thursday night.

TNA Rumors: Impact Wrestling Reportedly Up for Sale? Per Wrestling Observer via Wrestling Inc.

Special Halloween Edition of Impact Wrestling

It is never easy to run a show on Halloween because of the door-to-door candy-hunting tradition, but give immense credit to TNA for putting together an episode on paper that is worthy of fans wanting to watch live or, at the very least, set the DVR to watch later.

Question on Everybody's Mind: What Makes This Episode So Special?

Besides the talk about which superstars will be considered for a shot at the vacated title, the Bound for Glory rematch that's been booked between Bobby Roode and Kurt Angle has stolen the headlines. These two men had the best match of the night at the company’s biggest pay-per-view, but an odd ending hurt the allure of the match. Now is there time to redeem themselves by adding more fuel to this feud's fire.

Hype Meter: 4 out of 5 Halloween Segments

Not only will the fans undoubtedly be treated to an excellent Angle vs. Roode match, but the people that stuck with TNA through the last several months will also be rewarded with two title matches on Thursday's Impact.

The Knockouts Championship will be on the line (ODB fights Gail Kim with Lei'd Tapa) and the Tag straps will also be contested (The BroMans defend against James Storm and Gunner). Add in the possible return of Abyss, and it’s clear that the fundamental booking process has changed for the better in Impact Wrestling. Expect a much better show this week.

TNA Rumors: Eric Bischoff Out of Power in Impact Wrestling, per F4WOnline per via Wrestling Inc.

For more wrestling talk, listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot topics or catch the latest episode in the player below (some language NSFW.)

Follow @Donald_Wood

Follow @RingRustRadio